


Steps Along the Road

by ao_no_senshi



Category: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Genre: Cuddling and Snuggling, F/F, Female Friendship, Female Relationships, Female-Centric, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, POV Female Character, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-29
Updated: 2012-01-29
Packaged: 2017-10-30 07:42:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/329423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ao_no_senshi/pseuds/ao_no_senshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A princess and a thief don't have much in common. Fortunately, Ahim and Luka have a lot of time to learn that that doesn't matter. </p><p>Contains spoilers for the whole season.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Steps Along the Road

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyn/gifts).



> Cyn, I know your letter said you were interested in what happened to Luka and Ahim post-series but this kind of went the other way so I hope pre-series is okay as well. >.>

The Galleon was quiet for once as Ahim made her way to the couch and the small table beside it, for which she was thankful. She was tired and she ached and she longed for some tea to settle herself. Today had not been her first battle as a Gokaiger but she was no easier with it now than she had been then. Battle was necessary and she knew this, had known it when she had requested a place amongst the Gokaiger crew, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. She was trained in the art of negotiation, not the way of battle and it was a sharp learning curve she was having to become accustomed to.

 _This is necessary,_ she told herself. Sometimes negotiations broke down and violence was the only recourse left, and she was aware of this, much as she abhorred it. Unfortunately now was one of those times: the Zangyack would not listen to negotiation and Famille was gone as a result. Her people remained, however, scattered as they were throughout the galaxy, and she would be a symbol of hope for them, so they could see that she had not given up, that Famille's royal family had not abandoned their defiance of the Zangyack Empire. And if she faltered all she needed to do was close her eyes and she could see her parents being immolated in front of her by Zatsurig; her resolve would return, stronger than before. One day she would meet Zatsurig again and on that day she would avenge her parents. But until that day she was a part of this crew, the newest, most inexperienced of them, and she needed to learn faster so that she did not repeat the mistakes of today.

"If you think we'll be impressed with noble suffering in silence, princess, think again."

Ahim started out of her introspection with surprise, wincing as her injured shoulder protested the sudden movement. Luka-san was standing behind her, leaning against Marvelous-san's chair and frowning at her.

"I beg your pardon?" she said politely. It was merely a pulled muscle, her body not used to the kind of exertion she'd been placing it under lately. It was nothing the other members of this crew should have to worry about, she did not wish to be a burden or even indirectly suggest that she was not capable of pulling her own weight among this crew.

"Don't try to be a martyr," Luka-san retorted. "You're injured, right? Let me take a look at it."

Ahim's hand went to her shoulder reflexively. She would be glad of the medical attention, truth be told, because the pain was most vexing but surely here was not a suitable place for undressing. 

"Not here," Luka-san agreed, eyes following her hand and seeing where it landed. "I can take a look at that in your room, if you'd rather."

Ahim nodded slowly and rose to her feet, leaving the surprising comfort of the couch to follow Luka-san out of the Gokai Galleon's main room. And maybe, just maybe, she could find something of a home here on this ship, with these people, even if her world and her family were gone.

 

Luka frowned at the princess's shoulder. While she had certainly pulled a muscle there, there was also a rising bruise that didn't look comfortable at all and she fished the bruise cream out of the first aid kit. Bruise cream, honestly. That was something they never would have bothered with before Doc came on board - bruises were awkward, not debilitating - but she would grudgingly admit that the cream made dealing with them easier.

"You've got a real shiner back here," she told the princess lightly. "I'm going to put some cream on it but it'll be cold."

The other girl nodded, bracing herself as Luka smoothed the cream on, as gentle as if it were Fia she was patching up, not some pampered royal who was proving to be made of sterner stuff than Luka had first thought.

"There," she said a moment later, wiping her hands off on a tissue. "All done. Just don't overdo it, alright?"

"I have a sword lesson with Joe-san later," the princess said cautiously and Luka snorted.

"Not with that shoulder, you don't. I'll tell him, don't worry." While they might not always have the luxury of healing between fights there was no point in making Ahim's shoulder worse for no reason. She'd learn to fight with injuries soon enough as it was. She paused at the first aid kit, back safely turned to the room's other occupant. When had the princess become 'Ahim'?

 

Ahim stood nervously over the dishes in the kitchen. It was the first time she had cooked for the crew and while the Professor had been very clear and helpful in his instructions she was still nervous about how well the meal had turned out. Making tea had not been this worrying for many years, not since her tutor had first begun teaching her the art, and she was unaccustomed to the sudden reappearance of such nerves.

"Huh, Doc wasn't kidding when he said you were cooking," Luka-san commented as she strolled into the kitchen. "After the incident with the washing machine I'm surprised he left you alone in here." The words would sting were it not for the smile on Luka-san's face that said she was teasing. Her eyes were curious as she studied the meal, head tilted to the side.

"It's a meal from my world," Ahim told her, gesturing at the dishes. "One I was always fond of. I simply hope I have done it justice." The problem was the fish, she fretted, hoping she hadn't grilled it too much. Pedith called for lightly grilled fish with its attendant herbs to bring out the flavour, over-cooking it would ruin the taste completely.

"Can I try it?" Luka-san asked, leaning against her shoulder as she breathed in the aroma. "It smells good."

"Of course," Ahim replied, both pleased and yet more nervous. She might not know it but Luka-san's opinion was important to her and she wanted the other woman to enjoy this meal. She picked up a clean fork and scooped up a forkful, holding it out expectantly. Instead of taking the fork off her, however, Luka-san ducked her head and took the bite off the fork in her hand. 

"Mmm, it's good," she said, straightening up and giving Ahim a grin that she couldn't entirely interpret. "Want a hand getting it all out there?"

"If you wouldn't mind," Ahim replied, willing her heartbeat to slow down instead of pounding so erratically in her chest.

"Wouldn't have offered if I did," Luka-san pointed out, picking up a couple of plates before sauntering out of the room with them, easily countering Marvelous-san's horrified reaction to the idea of Luka-san cooking. Ahim smiled to herself at the sound of her companions bickering mildly amongst themselves. It seemed she was finally becoming accustomed to being here and fully accepted by this crew.

 

Luka stared out the stars over the latest world they'd stopped at, supposedly looking for shooting stars as she usually did but tonight her heart just wasn't in it. It should have been Fia's birthday today, by the reckoning of her planet, and while she'd managed to keep her game face on during the day, up here in the crow's nest it was harder, memories of her sister filling her mind. She wondered what Fia would think of the life she led now, so very different from the one they were used to: no more scavenging for food, no more Zangyack-enforced curfews, no trying to sleep with explosions going off in the distance. It would probably seem impossible, she conceded. She was old enough to remember what her world had been like before the Zangyack had arrived but Fia wasn't, the hand-to-mouth existence all she knew and Luka would have given anything for Fia to never have known that life.

Well, that was why she'd joined this crew, wasn't it? With her share of greatest treasure in the universe she'd buy a planet where no-one, especially no children like Fia, would have to live that life ever again. She might not be able to save her sister but she could damn well make sure other children like her had better lives.

Stretching out her shoulders, Luka shivered. It was getting cold up here, which was her cue to head back down into the warm. She'd had her share of being out in cold nights and she had no intention of staying out in the cold when she had somewhere warm to crash now. Heading back down she was surprised to find Ahim perched on the couch, blanket folded up on her lap. There was a loud series of crashes from the corridor and Luka gave the stairs a curious look, debating whether or not she wanted to find out what was happening.

"Marvelous-san is chasing Navi," Ahim told her, shaking out the blanket. "Joe-san and the Professor are attempting intervention."

"They're not doing a very good job," Luka pointed out and Ahim smiled.

"It would not appear so, no."

"What's with the blanket?"

"I thought you might be cold, coming down from the nest," Ahim replied. "Here, Luka-san, this should help you warm up."

Well, she was a bit cold still, Luka agreed, and if Ahim was offering the blanket she'd take it. Sitting down next to her, Luka took the blanket off her and spread it out over both of them. "We might as well stay here while the guys wreck the place," she said casually. "Let them deal with the mess they make."

Ahim made a small sound of agreement and leant into her, closing her eyes. Luka almost said something, then thought better of it. Cuddling with Ahim was new but it was a much better way of passing the time than anything else she could be doing right now. Maybe one day she'd tell Ahim about the dream she had, about her plans for her share of the treasure. She wasn't ready to yet, wasn't ready to talk about it to anyone who didn't know what it had been like, but Ahim would probably be the first person she'd tell.

"Would you like some tea, Luka-san?" Ahim asked quietly, just after a particularly loud crash from somewhere down the corridor, followed by an outraged shout from Marvelous and exasperated scolding from the Doc. She couldn't hear Joe but she could imagine the expression on his face easily enough.

"Maybe later," she replied, yawning. Ahim getting up to make tea meant Ahim would be _getting up_ and Luka was quite comfortable with Ahim where she was, thank you. It was something she could get used to with very little encouragement. 

 

"I think this one's yours, Ahim," Luka-san called, tossing their latest discovery in her direction. Ahim caught the key with ease, turning it over in her hands curiously. It was a white key with a pink trim, gold sash crossing the body of it.

"It's Gao White," the Professor told her, beaming, holding up his version of the key, black where this one was white, although the gold sash remained the same and there was no trim as there was on hers. "We've got all five now."

"We finally match on one," Luka-san continued, ignoring him and the face he pulled at her in favour of clinking the white key of Big One against that of Gao White. "Didn't see that coming."

Ahim nodded in agreement. "Indeed."

A shadow passed over their heads and they looked up to see a Zangyack ship coming to a halt, Gormin beginning their descent.

Marvelous-san barked out a laugh. "Looks like we'll be testing out that key sooner than we thought, huh, Ahim?"

Ahim smiled, slipping the Gao White key into her pocket and switching it with her Gokaiger key. "I appreciate the opportunity, Marvelous-san."

"You'll like it," Luka-san told her with a sharp grin, her Gokaiger key held loosely between her fingers. "The claws are great."

As the battle unfolded, Ahim could only conclude that Luka-san had been correct. The claws were indeed most satisfying.

 

"Today was the _worst_ ," Luka grumbled to herself as she stripped out of her clothes and into her nightwear. They'd finally reached Earth, the backwater planet in the middle of nowhere that was somehow the home of the greatest treasure in the universe, but they'd had to fight their way through a Zangyack fleet to reach it, making themselves even bigger targets than they already were, and worse, no-one on this planet had _any idea_ where the treasure was. They'd made themselves into targets the local Zangyack commander couldn't ignore and for what? Nothing, that was what.

There was a knock on her door and she sighed. The last thing she wanted was to be bothered right now. "What?"

"It's me, Luka-san," Ahim said from the other side of the door. "May I come in?"

Well, if it was Ahim it was okay, Luka shrugged to herself, heading over to the door and opening it. Ahim was ready for bed as well, but apparently she wasn't ready for sleep any more than Luka was. She didn't need to ask Ahim why she was here, having a fairly good idea of the reason and she stepped back to allow Ahim into her room.

They didn't know what the future held, but it would involve a lot more searching of this planet and she couldn't imagine the Zangyack leaving them alone to hunt down the treasure either; in the face of that it was no wonder Ahim was here and while Luka would sooner bite out her own tongue than admit it, she was glad of the company herself. As long as they were together they could do anything.


End file.
